Start Investing With Just $100

While there really is no comparison to a professional investment adviser to help make investing decisions, for most people it’s just too expensive to get that advice. Further, most advice centers on investing with $1,000 or $10,000, and most just don’t have that to risk in the stock market.

We’re going to tell you how to do it with as little as $100.

Ultimately, whether you have $100 or $1,000,000, the story is the same: create a diverse portfolio of stocks and bonds that will withstand stock market dips while increasing in value over the long term.

Here are three simple steps to achieve this with $100:

Open a brokerage account with a discount broker that has no investment minimums and low transaction fees. We recommend Zecco, which offers 40 free trades per month and no hidden fees or account minimums.

Fund the account. This is where you send money to the account by check, wire transfer, or automated clearing house (ACH). ACH is preferred because it is faster than a check and wire transfers are relatively expensive.

Make your first investment.

You’re going to want, as mentioned earlier, a widely diverse portfolio that covers all sectors and countries. You can’t exactly do that with $100 if you’re going to invest in stocks. Also, corporate bonds and mutual funds are out, since they require more capital than $100.

ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds), however, are like mutual funds that trade on the stock market, and you can purchase partial shares. Many ETFs track widely diverse indices, such as the S&P 500 or the MSCI-EAFE global index, or the Lehman Brother Aggregate Bond Index.

If you were to invest $100 in a different ETF every month for three months, you could have a well-diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds that would withstand most market volatility while steadily growing as the market does over time.

Of course, you would want to add to your investment on a regular basis, and I would invest no less than $100 at a time to keep transaction fees from limiting your growth. And when your account reaches $10,000 you’ll want to seek professional advice or at least move your funds over to traditional mutual funds, which typically have lower cost structures and are easier to manage.